Some of the basic principles of cytokinesis were established 40 or more years ago. Cytokinesis researchers since then have struggled with the confusions inherent in redundant and interdependent pathways. Now, however, enough molecular detail is accumulating to bring some order to thoughts on how one cell becomes two.
“When I began working on cytokinesis, I thought I was tinkering with a beautifully made Swiss watch, but what I was really working on was an old Maine fishing boat engine: overbuilt, inefficient, never-failed, and repaired by simple measures.” – Ray Rappaport (keynote address)
Cytokinesis presents us with two mysteries: how a cleavage furrow is localized to a single, defined place in the cell; and how an accumulation of proteins can deform a perfectly stable ovoid shape to create two new cells (Fig. 1). Scientists working in varied organisms met recently in Burlington, VT,...
